If there’s a case in wrestling history of an act that never should have worked and turned into huge business, it’s the Undertaker. A undead zombie in funeral clothes led around by a guy carrying a mystical urn? This should have been just another forgettable cartoon gimmick of 1990s WWE. Instead, somehow, it took off as a huge star, a multiple champion and one of the biggest icons of the company. Whether the Deadman or the biker, Taker is loved by fans, giving his all and the Streak became a key part of WrestleMania legend. His in-ring career may be over but Undertaker remains a huge respected face and not just in the ring.

For years, Taker has been seen as the locker room boss of WWE. That’s due to how he was loyal to the company, the one guy never tempted to jump ship even when things were bad. Everyone looks up to him and sees his word as law, as shown by his leading the “Wrestler’s Court” against folks who break backstage rules. Of course, not everyone agrees as more than a few guys have rubbed Taker the wrong way. But if you have Taker’s respect, you have it for the rest of the locker room as his word carries a lot of weight. Here are 10 wrestlers who had the respect of the Undertaker and 10 he wanted nothing to do with to show how the Deadman’s words and weight carry a lot with WWE and the fans.

24 Respect: Jake Roberts

As 1992 began, The Undertaker had a brief title run and was rising up with fans. While a heel, the cheers were getting louder and louder with fans taking to him. Taker had been working with Jake Roberts during the Snake’s epic feud with Randy Savage. When Roberts was about to attack Savage and Elizabeth with a chair, the Undertaker stopped him, turning face. This set up their big WrestleMania match with Roberts hitting his DDT on Undertaker. At the time, the move was known as one of the best finishers around, always working to knock a guy out and sold as a terrifying finisher.

Which was why it was shocking when Undertaker just sat right up from it. Bobby Heenan groaned on commentary of “the man’s not human!” Another DDT followed but again, Taker got up to hit his Tombstone on Jake on the outside and pin him. Jake was on his way out of WWE anyway but Undertaker respected how Jake was so eager to put him over that he was willing to sacrifice the effectiveness of the DDT to make Taker more of an unstoppable force. To this day, Undertaker gives Jake props for helping him rise up in WWE and how that match really kicked off the Streak and Taker as a true power in WWE.

23 Nothing To Do With: Muhammad Hassan

When you’re already given a rough gimmick, you should be doing your best to make sure to get the locker room on your side. Muhammad Hassan didn’t get that memo. The guy already had a bad time in WWE, pushed with the ultra-cliché “evil Arab” gimmick and not winning over fans with bad promos. But worse was his attitude backstage as he carried himself like he was a mega star. The famous story is him telling Eddie Guerrero he couldn’t use the camel clutch as it was Hassan’s move now. Eddie dryly pointed out his father invented the move in the first place. Another is when Hassan bought drinks for the SmackDown roster only to have them pour them onto the bar floor.

Given that attitude, it’s no shock that Hassan and Taker didn’t get along well in their feud.

Hassan was coming off incredibly arrogant and assumed he would be going over Taker in their feud and wouldn't listen to Undertaker’s advice.

The whole thing ended in an infamous moment as Hassan had Taker attacked by a bunch of masked men in an episode that just happened to air the same day as terrorist attacks in London. The heat led to Hasan being fired but few were defending him, given how bad he was backstage and Taker no doubt as happy as anyone to see him gone.

22 Respect: Batista

When the plan came out for Batista and Undertaker to face off at WrestleMania 23, more than a few fans let out groans. Batista had skills but was not known for classic battles by any means. Thus, most expected a slow and plodding match. Instead, the two had arguably the best match of the entire show, a terrific battle culminating in Taker winning the belt. They had numerous rematches, including Hell in the Cell and clicked wonderfully. Something about Undertaker brought out the best in Batista, looking like a much better worker than usual, carrying their brawls well and coming off truly impressive.

That counted behind the scenes as Taker was impressed by Batista being open to learning from him and taking his cues to help the matches along. For a guy known for a bad attitude at the time, Batista counted Taker as a guy to listen to and learn from and did so quite well. As a result, their feud ranks among The Undertaker’s best in WWE and they did a great job together. Batista is now in Hollywood but Taker is one guy to defend him in wrestling circles and how he truly helped “the Animal” become a respected star in WWE.

21 Nothing To Do With: Matt Hardy

Taker and Jeff Hardy have gotten along well with Taker respecting Jeff’s amazing daredevil style. That was shown in their epic RAW ladder match in 2002 with Taker visibly congratulating Jeff on a great match (despite being a heel) and never giving up, despite the odds. However, Taker and Matt had a much more sour relationship. It goes to when Matt was starting his singles run in 2002 and had some shots on Undertaker “hogging” the spotlight on SmackDown. Given how it was obvious Taker was one of the most popular guys on the roster, Matt complaining about him on top seemed to be sour grapes from a guy on a lower rung trying to make more of a name for himself.

That continued in 2005 when Matt made his big return to WWE following the famous fallout over the Edge-Lita situation. At the 2005 Survivor Series, Matt was among those in the ring when Taker made a big return and the plan was for him to be among those chokeslammed by him. But Matt felt that was a comedown thanks to his heat and rolled right out of the ring when Taker attacked. Taker was upset with this and chewed Hardy out backstage. Jeff is known as getting into trouble but it turns out Matt is the Hardy who got major heat with Undertaker in WWE.

20 Respect: Kane

Given how long they’ve worked together, it’s no wonder a great bond has forged between the “Brothers of Destruction.” They’d actually worked together back in 1995 when WWE and USWA worked together and Glenn Jacobs was known as “Unabomber.” Then in WWE, he was Isaac Yankem, an evil dentist and set against Taker in fights. Even then, there were hints they could get along better. That all paid off when Jacobs was given the character of Kane and embarking on an epic feud with the Undertaker in 1998. The two were great in the ring together to make any type of match notable and a good chemistry.

Since then, they’ve bounced between enemies to allies and back, winning tag titles and then feuding over a World Championship.

Each has changed their characters a few times but they still get along great.

That includes behind the scenes, hanging out a lot and helping keep the locker room in order via the Wrestler’s Court. They may not be true brothers but Taker and Kane showcase how a mutual respect has turned into a friendship for one of the most long-lasting feud/partnerships in WWE and it's obvious how much they get along.

19 Nothing To Do With: Sid

Even at his best, Sid was a really bad worker. He had a great look on screen as a tall man with an aura of power and could easily kick your ass and enjoy it. Sadly, that was mixed with a terrible and sloppy in-ring style that could easily lead to injuries. Sid and Taker briefly clashed in 1991 when Sid was actually the face and Taker still the cold zombie heel. Even then, they didn’t get along as Sid was poor in the ring (although Taker will admit he was still learning his way himself) and their matches a bad sight. That continued into 1992 before Sid left the company.

In 1996, Sid returned and he and Taker were soon set up at Mania for the title. The match was sloppy and slow, one of the worst Mania main events ever, as they just couldn’t get on the same page. It ended with Taker winning the belt (after interference from Bret Hart) but not the epic moment fans wanted. They had rematches but Sid’s bad backstage attitude would lead to another exit from the company. He and Taker never met up again and Taker is glad as he’ll easily rank Sid among his worst opponents ever.

18 Respect: John Cena

John Cena’s debut is famous. In 2002, this rookie came out to challenge Kurt Angle and while he lost, still was impressive. Backstage, Cena found himself facing the Undertaker who, after a long silence, offered a hand and told him “Good job.” In various bios, Cena says having Undertaker give him the rub on screen was a key part of him getting over. It took a while for Cena to click with fans thanks to his rapping act but that led to a major feud with Undertaker. Taker clearly saw Cena’s potential, boosting him up in their feud and doing a great job showcasing Cena’s rising star power.

They have fought a few more times since although nothing as huge as fans wanted (rumors abounded each wanted a Mania match with the other much earlier than this year but it never came off). Taker clearly gives Cena props in interviews as he knows how well Cena handles the pressure of being champion and the face of the company, something Taker knows all about. They may not be close friends but Taker respects Cena’s drive and ability to carry the company and that early rub was a big part of Cena’s rise to the top.

17 Nothing To Do With: Kevin Nash

It’s perhaps easier to count the folks Kevin Nash hasn’t ticked off over the years. In person, Nash comes off a good guy, fun to hang around with and a great sense of humor. However, Nash is loathed for how he was never that good a worker and just got over on his size and charisma. More importantly is his incredibly selfish manner which really cut loose in WCW. But it was there in WWE as well with Nash and Shawn Michaels forging the Kliq to dominate backstage and make sure they got their way. As a veteran already, Undertaker didn’t like being pushed aside like this and would fight back, leading to clashes with them.

It took until early 1996 for Nash and Taker to finally face off in the ring and it wasn’t pretty. Nash, of course, thought he should be going over more in the feud despite the fact it was well known he had one foot out the door.

Taker continued to clash with him all the way until Nash’s exit later that year. It’s rumored when Nash returned in 2002 that a feud with Taker was in the works but Taker totally refused to get in the ring with him. Nash has made a lot of enemies over the years yet Taker has to be one of his most prominent.

16 Respect: Yokozuna

Yokozuna never quite gets the credit he deserves as a worker. For a man over 500 pounds, he was incredibly fast, able to move around the ring better than some guys half his size and even was able to throw lithe kicks. His splash finisher was harder than it looks but Yoko pulled it off without injuring anyone. In 1993, he and Undertaker started a feud with Taker soon coming to like Yoko’s drive and skill and it led to good battles. True, their Royal Rumble casket match had an infamously bad finish but they continued to work together for other feuds and did their best to make them better than they seemed.

Behind the scenes, Taker and Yokozuna soon became good friends. When the Kliq started to rise up in power, Taker organized his own band, the Bone Street Krew, which comprised of the likes of Yoko, Fatu (Rikishi), Savio Vega, Henry Godwinn, Charles Wright (Godfather) and others. Yoko was a key member, he and Taker doing great partying together and with his size, it was natural Yoko could back Taker up on things. Yokozuna left the company in 1996 but he and Taker remained friends to make Yoko one “big guy” Taker never minded fighting.

15 Nothing To Do With: CM Punk

It’s pretty obvious how Punk has rubbed slews of guys in WWE the wrong way. From the start, he and Taker clashed a few times, notably when Punk showed up at a public interview event in 2009 wearing casual clothes. Taker told him that as World Champion, Punk should be going around in a suit but Punk snapped back that Taker had no right to tell him what to wear. Taker was irate and the result was him destroying Punk in a Hell in the Cell match. Given Punk’s outspoken attitude, it’s no shock he and Taker continued to get on each other’s nerves. Punk is pretty much the one guy who talks of a program with the Taker as a terrible step for his carer which doesn’t win him friends.

The highlight was when they were facing off at WrestleMania as Undertaker thought Punk was going a bit too far with his mockery of the late Paul Bearer to sell the feud. For his part, Punk went around with the attitude that a WrestleMania match against the Undertaker was a disappointment, given that he wasn't main eventing the show. Punk continues to bad mouth Taker among others and the feeling is mutual as Taker just couldn’t stand Punk living up to his name.

14 Respect: Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar was the real deal in WWE from the start. He was a huge monster but could also do technical work and even take off the ropes as well as a great presence on camera. He was pushed fast to win the WWE title and clearly a new face of the company. Thus, a feud with Undertaker was a natural. The duo had a great one, the highlight being a Hell in the Cell war where Taker did one of the most gruesome blade jobs in WWE history. It was obvious Taker respected Brock as a great worker who could take huge damage and let him cut loose for a terrific series of encounters.

That respect kept up as Taker never bad-mouthed Brock, even when the guy was on the outs from WWE. When he returned, a feud with Taker was in the cards and that led to WrestleMania XXX.

By all accounts, it was Vince who decided Brock would break the Streak yet if Taker didn’t want that to happen, he could easily have made sure it didn’t.

Instead, Taker let Brock be the one to end a key part of his legacy, as huge a sign of respect as possible. Their matches showed two guys who just loved beating on each other so it’s safe to say Brock is high on Taker’s respect list.

13 Nothing To Do With: DDP

Diamond Dallas Page got into wrestling late but still showcased a great style in the ring. He was a great arrogant heel and his “Diamond Cutter” finisher was truly amazing to watch. What got DDP over was how he was meticulous in planning out matches, making sure everything was good and could be commanding about it. That was okay in WCW but led to conflicts when DDP came into WWE. He was open on hating the entire angle of him “stalking” Taker’s wife and setting up a poor feud. Taker wasn’t happy about DDP giving him a plan for their matches, considering it Page trying to boss around a veteran and being too demanding.

Not helping was Page refusing to sell properly at a house show with Taker thinking Page was trying to show him up. To be fair, Page wasn’t used to the WWE style of wrestling which has a different flow from how WCW would operate in their heyday. That he was coming in thinking he’d be treated like a big star didn’t help either. Their feud was terrible to show that DDP’s style just didn’t win favors with The Deadman. Thankfully, DDP says he and Taker are on better terms today:

"Today Taker and I are tight," he said. "He came up to me after he saw The Resurrection of Jake the Snake and said, 'Dude, what you're doing for the business and people in general is super special.'"

12 Respect: Triple H

It’s known how Undertaker has long been a major respected force in the locker room. For years, rookies would be told to look to Taker for advice and, more importantly, listen if he said not to do something. Triple H was just like that as he started up as the Greenwich snob character. They had a few matches here and there but even when Hunter was with the Kliq, Taker still liked the kid, seeing his future potential. As Hunter rose in fame, he and Undertaker would clash more often in the ring but would show each other respect out of it.

When Hunter was dating Stephanie, he went to Taker to ask if dating the boss’s daughter was the right thing to do.

In many ways, Hunter saw Taker’s blessing as just as important, if not more, than Vince’s to do it. That Taker was one of Hunter’s groomsmen at his wedding talks to their real-life friendship. It keeps up with some great Mania battles and each talking of the other in warm terms. The Game may have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way over the years but he and Undertaker have always gotten along well and that continues today with a huge respect and major friendship.

11 Nothing To Do With: Bob Orton

Undertaker and Randy Orton got along rather well. While Randy was something of a jerk backstage in early 2005, he was still a great athlete and rising star. The plan was for him to end the Streak at WrestleMania but Orton refused as he didn’t want the extra heat on him and didn’t think he was worthy of it. For him to give up such a huge boost won Taker’s respect and he would do the job to Orton a few times in their feud to give him the rub. They didn’t work much beyond that but Taker did respect Randy…which is a lot more than can be said about his father.

As part of the feud, Taker faced “Cowboy” Bob on a TV taping. Bob bladed during the match for a big angle to fire it up. It was only after the match ended that Taker discovered Orton had a bad case of Hepatitis C at the time and naturally hit the roof.

While he was mad at agent John Laurinaitis for not putting a stop to this, Taker also felt Orton should have been up front about the dangers rather than risk the health of a fellow worker to get on TV. While Taker may respect Randy, he has no love for Bob.

10 Respect: Kurt Angle

Their relationship was a bit rough at first. As Angle burst into fame in 2000, he and Taker didn’t cross paths at first but soon facing off as part of some title bouts. Taker (in his biker phase) did respect Angle’s toughness and ability to handle things. However, in 2002, during the now-infamous “Plane Ride From Hell” trip, Taker mistakingly believed Angle was attacking him and nearly strangled him. They did get over that and would continue to work together in various good matches over the years. Taker had a serious respect for Angle’s work ethic and ability to take punishment and it led to good matches.

The height has to be that in 2006, Taker was actually willing to let Angle break the Streak. He wanted to finally put on a true WrestleMania classic and Taker thought a terrific match with Angle would spark up WreslteMania 22 and breaking the Streak would give Angle more of a push as World Champion. It didn’t come off as WWE wanted the plan of Rey Mysterio or Randy Orton winning the title off Angle instead but for Taker to offer up such an epic turn for Angle speaks volumes of how much he respects the Olympic athlete.

9 Nothing To Do With: Sim Snuka

The son of the “Superfly” sadly never lived up close to his father’s legacy (which, to be fair, has taken a serious hit over the years due to infamous events). In WWE, he was part of Deuce and Domino, a tag team made out to be 1950s greasers, complete with an old-styled car, leather jackets and a valet on roller skates. They had a brief run as tag team champions but it was pretty bad and lost the titles in just months as they were frankly terrible in the ring.

Snuka’s status fell more with reports that Taker was among some offering him advice but he brushed them off.

Snuka was soon moved into the “stunt worker” category of WWE. That led to what was to be his biggest moment, during the classic Undertaker-Shawn Michaels battle at WrestleMania 25. The idea was for Taker to do a huge leap over the ropes and Shawn to grab a “cameraman” (Snuka) and let him get wiped out by Taker. However, Snuka was totally out of position and didn't catch him properly and thus Taker landed right on his head. Needless to say, nearly causing a serious injury to a huge star at the biggest show of the year led Snuka to be fired with reports of Taker throwing a huge fit over it after the match. Thus, Snuka is not on the Taker’s list of favorite workers by any means.

8 Respect: Shawn Michaels

True, at first, they had a rough go of it. That’s due to how Shawn was a flat-out jerk in his 1990s prime. He openly admits it, how he and the Kliq carried too much power overall. That led to backstage conflicts with Taker’s Bone Street Krew for some infamous run-ins. Taker and HBK did get along enough to make the first Hell in the Cell match notable and a good feud but Michaels wasn’t happy over suffering a severe back injury in a casket match with Taker in early 1998. At WreslteMania, Michaels talked of maybe not doing the job for Austin only for Taker to slowly wrap tape around his fist to make it clear Michaels was going to do the job or else.

However, when Shawn returned in 2002, he and Taker started to get along better. Shawn had cleaned up his act and was impressing with his fantastic matches, better than ever before. He and Taker were on separate brands but had clashes a few times at battles like the Royal Rumble with Taker dumping Shawn out to win the 2007 Rumble. This all led to their battle at Wrestlemania 25 that was an instant classic and Taker giving huge props to Shawn for it. They followed it up the next year with Shawn’s last match and Taker honored Shawn chose him to send his career out. So while it took a while, Shawn today is a guy Taker respects for taking him to the limit as well as turning into a much better guy.

7 Nothing To Do With: Mabel

Nelson Frazier was a big guy pushed hard because of his size. He started off as one half of Men on a Mission, a pair of goofy rappers and obvious his size was key to his antics. In 1995, Vince had the terrible idea of making Mabel the monster heel to face off against Diesel. The result was a horrible feud that dragged WWE down into one of their worst years of all time with terrible matches including a horrific SummerSlam main event. Posessing almost no real skills in the ring, Mabel was moved into a feud with Undertaker. But during one bout, Mable hit a legdrop that shattered Taker’s nose and face, forcing him to wear a mask for some time.

It wasn’t much better when Mabel was repackaged as Viscera in 1998 and part of The Undertaker’s “Ministry of Darkness.” It was obvious they were never on the same page as Taker was still holding a grudge over that injury and it led to some bad clashes. Frazier would go through other various gimmicks before leaving and passing on in 2014. But he and Taker still weren’t friends as Taker showed he could hold a grudge on someone responsible for one of his worst in-ring injuries.

6 Respect: Mick Foley

From the beginning, Mick Foley had a huge push in WWE. His debut was attacking the undertaker and laying him out, something you didn’t see done back then. It boosted Foley up as Taker respected the man’s incredible ability to absorb damage to an almost inhuman degree. Their feud in 1996 was great with Foley giving as good as he got in a no-holds barred war that included Paul Bearer turning on Taker to join Mankind and Taker taking on a darker edge to fight him. Of course, what everyone remembers is the first Hell in the Cell match where the respect of both was on full blast.

It’s forgotten that Taker had a broken leg at the time and thus they covered with starting on the roof of the Cell and setting up Foley’s iconic fall.

In his book, Foley gave Undertaker huge props for helping him along when Foley was basically a wreck during the Cell bout and making it all work.

To this day, both men speak with great respect of the other and admire their great conflicts with Taker acknowledging how Foley was one of the best guys to work with and helped forge one of the most iconic matches of the Attitude Era.

5 Nothing To Do With: Chris Jericho

It may seem odd that Undertaker and Chris Jericho didn’t work together that much in WWE. They would face off in the occasional tag match but nothing major. A reason for that goes all the way back to Jericho’s entrance in WWE in 1999. Jericho had a huge debut with his “Countdown Clock” and then interrupting various workers. This included Undertaker with Jericho openly saying Taker was “boring” with his promos and should just move aside for Jericho to take over. Shawn Michaels, hardly the best guy to get along with back then, was actually outraged enough to tell Jericho off, showing how huge everyone respected the Undertaker.

Taker himself wasn’t happy and gave Jericho a severe tongue-lashing backstage. Jericho actually says this was a good thing to temper his ego and let him understand how Undertaker was the main voice in the locker room. But their issues remained as recently, Taker was to face Rusev in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Rusev was replaced by Jericho but then it went back to Rusev. A major rumor is Taker saying he just didn’t want to work with Jericho although Jericho has tried to brush it off. As much as Jericho is a huge star, Taker doesn’t seem a big fan.